Faking Us ✔️

ten

Cassie
~

"How long do I pretend to be your girlfriend?"

Luca blinks suddenly as if my question caught him off guard. Maybe he didn't think I would entertain his offer, but here I am...

I stare down at my feet when he says, "A month."

A month?

What am I getting myself into?

He moves his hands behind his back and I can't help but smile and roll my eyes. I know he is literally crossing his fingers in hopes I say yes. I seriously can't say no now. I stride over toward him and reach my hand out. He hesitates at first, but quickly obliges.

"All right Luca. Deal."

I can't believe I agreed to this.

Be his girlfriend for an entire month and go to Prom together? I hate to say it, but I'm desperate. I need to pass this class. When he overheard me talking to my dad, I was embarrassed. He stepped around my car and looked almost sorry for me. I hate that feeling.

Pity.
But I went for it.

It wasn't hard for me to notice the way he looked at me. Especially when he mentioned Marcus. Marcus is an idiot and never deserved you. I couldn't get those words out of my head. He would stare down at his feet, almost shy of getting what he needs off his chest. Or it could be nerves. He didn't know how I would respond.

"In order for this to work, we have to really play the part. You'll need to come to the football games to watch me perform..."

Luca knew I was the captain of the cheer team, so he nodded. "And on the day of my track meets you'll need to come watch me also."

"Okay."

He clears his throat. "I've never been to a football game before."

I giggle. "And I've never been to a track meet."

A smile tugs on his lips. "First time for everything, right?"

The next day I quickly walk toward Luca's truck and startle him right when he opens the door. He nearly jumps. I can't help but laugh.

"Sorry."

He scoffs, shaking his head slightly. "It's fine," his eyes travel to the students walking on the school grounds, heading toward the main office. Some are going to the gym and others are going to the auditorium. "Shall we?"

"What's the plan?" I keep my voice low. He looks at me curiously. "What do you mean?"

"You know, you're really bad at this pretending thing. We have to play the part."

Luca swallows hard. He takes a step closer to me and I see all the color drain from his face. He is worried. "Are you really sure about this? You can tell me you're not and I'll be totally fine about you shutting me down."

For some reason, I'm left smiling. His nerves make him even cuter.

You think he's cute?

Well... I mean, yeah. I've just never really seen this much of him lately. It's always Marcus who I'm around and it's nice to see someone else every once in a while.

Now, it's Luca, and I'm really okay with it.
I get to see the green in his eyes more and the way he looks down at his feet when he doesn't know what to say. A few curls fall into his eyes which makes him rub them with the back of his knuckles. It's... cute.

"I really need to graduate, so if you help me then I'll help you."

He blinks, quirking up a brow. "Help me?"

"Yeah..." I pause. "You want to know what popularity is like, right? It can't just be me you want."

"Cassie, I don't—"

The final bell rings signaling everyone to find their class. I don't let him finish his sentence as I quickly grab his hand and pull us inside as students start gathering the halls.

He seemed confused when I mentioned popularity. Doesn't he want to see what it's like? I'm sure it's something he's thought about since we were kids. It's honestly hard to think about anything else as a few students stare the minute we step inside the school.

I bring his hand into mine and Luca eventually interlocks our fingers. When our eyes meet it's like slow motion. I don't know if it's because we're holding hands or because word is eventually going to get out. We're a couple. Someone finds their way in the back of my mind and that someone is Marcus.

He was leaning against his locker, talking to Trent and Cole, when he noticed me. His eyes glanced down to our locked hands.

"You've got to be kidding me."

A loud groan escapes from his lips as he pushes off the locker, walking toward us until Cole pulls him away. We turn down another hall and I can hear him say something to Marcus from behind me.

"She's not worth it, Bro."

When we make it to the lockers, Anderson is fishing out some textbooks. Right as he closed it, he did as everyone else did and stared down at our hands.

"Okay, this is new to me."

I unlock our fingers and grab something out of my locker as well.

Luca rubs the back of his neck. "Yeah, about that..." he rambled. "Actually, it's a long story. I'll tell you later."

He nods, looking between him and I. There's no telling what's going through his mind right now. "Can't you tell me right now?"

Principal Treadway makes his rounds, escorting students to their assigned classes. When Luca notices him, he says, "Saved by the Principal."

"Isn't that Saved by the Bell?" I say.

"If you insist."

Anderson shakes his head before walking into Mr. Lexington's English class.

"I'm so confused."

• • •

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